Suggestions - Please?

Alright - this one is going to be short and sweet. Its more of a call for suggestions than it is a post - not a cry for help, but a steer in the right direction. Its also not any of the drama you may be imagining. See.... i need you guys to suggest some great books to me.
I was given a gift voucher to a book store for my birthday. I bought " Water for Elephants " by Sara Gruen and " One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest " by Ken Kesby. In the month since my birthday i have read, and loved them both. ( I've also re-watched the film version of "...Cuckoos Nest " and it was just as awesome as i remembered. Jack Nicholson is a revelation. Go watch it if you've never seen it. I'm also planning on taking my mum to see " Water For Elephants " when its released later this year.... ). I'm now re-reading " To Kill a Mockingbird " ( just because i adore the book and its about due for another reading ) but after that....i'm at a loss. I cant afford to buy new books at the moment so dont suggest anything to recent but...

What great reads could you recommend? I'll give almost anything a go ( not too keen on personal biographies, though i wont entirely dismiss all non-fiction ) as long as its well written, and has an involving storyline. So....suggest away people!

Journeys of hope and opportunity, no matter the weather

Tomorrow is the last day of what meteorologists call winter here in the UK. I heard this snippet last night on the weather forecast and it occurred to me that we all take so much for granted, even something as apparently mundane as the weather forecast. Most of us wouldn’t give a second thought as to what lies behind those few minutes of daily weather news.

Stunningly, the UK Met Office (the people responsible for our weather forecasts), employ more than 1700 people, and the Met is ranked the world's most accurate forecaster, using more than 10 million weather observations a day, an advanced atmospheric model and state of the art technology to create 3000 tailored forecasts and weather briefings a day!

It was Robert Fitzroy who is credited with making weather forecasting a reality. Fitzroy was by all accounts a remarkable person. Most famous for being the Captain of the HMS Beagle, on its world voyage which served as the inspiration for the equally famous Charles Darwin and his defining work: 'On the origin of species'. Interestingly, Darwin originally was studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh, before being sent to the University of Cambridge to study a BA in theology in order to become a parson. That he met Fitzroy and accompanied him on voyage of discovery that lasted five years and as consequence, develop and publish so many challenging ideas, was pure serendipity.

Fitzroy, was also an accomplished author – publishing the 'Weather Book' in 1863. This book was said to be way in advance of the prevailing scientific opinion of the time. Rather more unsuccessfully, Fitzroy was also the second Governor for New Zealand (1843-1845).

And as we all now know, last Tuesday (22nd February) a massive earthquake hit the New Zealand South Island city of Christchurch killing some 146 people and causing massive damage to much of the city centre. As I write this blog some six days later, there are said to be still more than 220 people missing in Christchurch and the surrounding area. Thousands of other people have been affected. I have two children and four grandchildren living in New Zealand, thankfully they all live on the North Island and are fine.

The BBC’s use of a headline, ‘the people and city of Christchurch will recover’, made me think about the work of my colleague Julie Repper. A few years ago she wrote a thought provoking paper about discovery being the new recovery. For those of you who don’t know recovery is a concept used in mental health care that captures what Julie describes as the process of moving forward, of rebuilding a satisfying and meaningful life with mental health problems, of finding new meaning and purpose in one’s life. This process can become a personal journey of discovery.

Two qualities appear to be crucial in individuals being able to make this journey: hope and opportunity. Without hope (and this can be hope for all kinds of different futures) few of us would even begin the journey of discovery. Without opportunity (in particular to access the things we value and which give meaning to our lives) then the journey becomes futile.

As we think about the people of New Zealand facing what is perhaps their greatest natural disaster, embarking on what will be a long journey of discovery and recovery, we should also keep in mind that hope and opportunity are not qualities to be taken for granted if our own lives are to have purpose and meaning. Reminding ourselves of this occasionally is important, but sometimes difficult to do, as Antoine de Saint-Exupery noted: “on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.”

Lover Boy

I just wanted to let you all know that i am madly, insanely, crazy in love with a boy.... and its not Mick. He's really gorgeous, a great kisser and hugger and is hilariously funny. So who is he?

Oh yea, there he is .... its Flynn! I just had to share with the world how much i am loving Flynn right now - he's 14 months on Sunday and so much is happening. He took his first steps way back in December but this week he has really started walking properly. He's still wobbly, and sometimes he only manages half a dozen steps before he falls down, but its beautiful to see how hard it tries, and how big he smiles when he gets it right and i clap for him. He was walking all around the loungeroom today, and kept wobbling over and giving me a huge cuddle, or blowing raspberries on my neck, or giving me a big smooch on the lips ( complete with exaggerated " mwah! " sound ). We went shopping and he said hello to almost every single woman we passed ( dirty flirt! ) and was blowing me kisses from his stroller while we waited at Medicare. Everything he did today was just so gorgeous....my heart couldnt help but swell with love, and pride.
Do you ever have moments like these with your kids?

Polly Dolly - To The Max!

Welcome back to another Polly Dolly challenge ( as hosted by Danimezza ). This week Dani has been inspired by a bad retail experience, and her desire to try a new trend....and has asked to dress our Polly Dolly in a....

Polly Dolly - To The Max! by Amy1984 featuring platform high heels

I dont know about you, but maxi skirts, for me, always give off a beachy, laid back, 70's vibe - so thats the first thought i had for my Polly Dolly. I found her a long hippy/Gypsy inspired skirt and then teamed it with a simple white fitted tank and denim vest. Of course, a 70's vibe calls for platforms, and these denim wedges are hot! The trilby and aviators modernise the look, and my Polly can fit everything she needs in her gorgeous leather satchel. A fresh scent, a slick of gloss and some cool, laidback tunes ( the " More Adventurous " album by Rilo Kiley ) complete the look. Whatta ya think?

Are We Going To Win This War?

We’re at war. Our enemy is radical Islam. It's the aggressor and its goal is to put the world under Sharia Law. Its biggest obstacle is the United States of America because we are the epitome of Western Civilization. Our goal is to defeat radical Islam.

“Are we going to win this war?”

That critical question was asked by someone from the audience at a panel discussion called “The Sharia Challenge in the West,” I attended two weeks ago at the three-day CPAC 2011 (Conservative Political Action Conference). The panel of experts included former CIA Director James Woolsey; former US Attorney Andrew McCarthy who successfully prosecuted the first World Trade Center bombers in 1993; Clifford May - president of the Foundation For the Defense of Democracies; and Ayaan Hirsi Ali - one of the most courageous people alive.

“Are we going to win this war?”

None of the panelists answered with an emphatic “Yes” and that depressed me, even if it didn’t surprise me. Each indicated we could win, but whether we will or not depends on how much Americans want to win. That, unfortunately, is still an open question.Andrew McCarthy, Ayaan Hirsi Ali at CPAC 2011

Panelist Ayaan Hirsi Ali has the most to lose if we don’t win because she’s already marked for death by our enemy. She wrote the script for “Submission,” a movie directed by Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker and grand-nephew of the famous Dutch painter. “Submission” criticized Islam for sanctioning abuse of women. Both Hirsi Ali and Van Gogh were threatened with death if they released it, but they did so anyway.

Shortly after, in broad daylight on the streets of Amsterdam, a Muslim immigrant shot Van Gogh eight times, cut his throat, and pinned a note to his torso with a dagger, saying Hirsi Ali was next. Ever since, she’s been under armed guard 24-7-365. Even though she was an elected member of Dutch Parliament, her government has balked about paying to defend her. She moved to the United States and accepted a fellowship with the American Enterprise Institute. Her security is now paid for privately.

“Are we going to win this war?”

The question lingered in the air. Hirsi Ali said the way to win is to “offer an alternative vision,” and I couldn’t agree more strongly. Western Civilization is itself an alternative vision, but our universities and our media are dominated by liberals who blame it for the world’s ills. American colleges and universities are eliminating western civilization courses. And, The Muslim Brotherhood’s goal is to “bring down western civilization from within,” (If you hit this link, scroll down for the English translation). The American left (including many in the Obama Administration) supports the Muslim Brotherhood and its offspring, Hamas. Ramsay Clark, Bill Ayers, Code Pink, and A.N.S.W.E.R. tried to bring aid to Hamas by breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza last year. The American Left abhors Western Civilization and cooperates with the Muslim Brotherhood to bring it down. “The way you fight this thing is to expose it,” said panelist Andrew McCarthy. Trouble is, leftists dominating our universities shout down speakers who try to expose it. Sharia is Islamic law. Under it, women cannot go out in public unless accompanied by a male relative. Thieves get their hands cut off. Adulterers and homosexuals are stoned to death. If you reject Islam, you’re killed. A woman’s testimony in legal issues is worth half that of a man.

The slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood is:

Allah is our objective.
The Prophet is our leader.

Quran [Sharia] is our law.

Jihad [holy war] is our way.

Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.

Our enemies are anxious to die for their cause. Millions are brainwashed from birth as was Ayaan Hirsi Ali growing up in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. She said: “Their paradigm is a paradigm of death. That is their core vulnerability. It is a core of death. You defeat it by pushing a core of life.”She’s right of course. We need a massive propaganda campaign to expose Sharia Law and the theist totalitarianism of radical Islam for the dark-age depravity it is. We must contrast our enemy’s vision with the values of our constitutional democracy embodied in The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with its Bill of Rights.

“We’ve inhibited ourselves,” said Hirsi Ali. “We’re not speaking out enough,” because too many of us have been indoctrinated with multicultural political correctness. “If they defeat us,” she added, “it’s because of our lack of confidence.”Right again. As our leftist media and our leftist universities continue their indoctrination, fewer and fewer Americans understand that our republic is the summit of civilization. Many won’t ever realize that unless we lose it. Then they’ll find out the hard way, but the rest of us need to witness confidently while there’s still time. We need a president who will celebrate Western Civilization, not apologize for it, who will call our enemy by its names: Radical Islam, Sharia, and jihad. We need a president who will champion American exceptionalism, who will foster patriotism in every American and proclaim the United States as the greatest country in the history of the world - because it is.

European leaders including Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, and the UK’s David Cameron are finally declaring that leftist moonbat multiculturalism is a total failure. As columnist Pat Buchanan puts it: “Only in Canada and the U.S., it seems, is the issue still in dispute.”CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) will, no doubt, scream “Islamophobia!” But, as panelist James Woolsey put it: “If you’re opposed to the beating of women and the killing of apostates, you are not an Islamophobe.”

Please ponder this: How can we expect to defeat our enemy if we’re unwilling even to offend him?

Operation Slimdown - Or Is It?

So - guess what today is? If you guessed Operation Slimdown update day then you'd be right! Yes, today is my fortnightly update on my weight loss adventure ( if you can call it that) and, after last Tuesdays post, i wasn feeling too optimistic about weighing in and measuring myself up. Comfort eating, Pepsi-drinking and general sad-sacking do not usually make for a good loss. Lets see....


Bust: 91.5cm - down 3cm
Waist: 77.5cm - up 0.5cm
Hips: 100.5cm - up 1.5cm
Bum: 103cm - down 1.5cm
Thigh: 64cm - down 1.5cm
Weight:72.7kg - down 600g
So there you be - not a gain as i was expecting, but not quite the loss i'm aiming for. As i said, i would really love to lose AT LEAST a kilo a fortnight ( unfortunately last weekend was a bit of a lost cause ) but if i'm a few 100g here or there on a normal week well... I'm not going to beat myself up about it. If its the difference between one scoop of ice cream or two then hell....i'm treating myself to the icecream. Everything in moderation and seeing as i'm still on the " 2 cups of vegies and 2L of water a day " path ( mostly...sometimes its 1.75L.... ) i think i deserve two scoops of icecream every few days. And you know what? I had the willpower to shun icecream, and chocolate, and even birthday cake for 2 weeks when i kickstarted this thing off, and i know i could do it again. I also know i dont really HAVE to deprive myself either, so i dont. I think thats kind of a healthy attitude...

What is also healthy is that i've started throwing exercise back in the mix too this week. I'm starting myself off slowly - i'm not quite back to gum junkie status yet. I plan on doing half an hour of yoga 5 days a week, going for a 20 min walk during my lunch break from work 3 days a week, and then going for an extra 45 min walk 3 days a week aswell. Its definately not as hard as i used to train, and i'd love to get back into the running and the weight training at some point, but for now what i have planned should help shift the last 4.7kg til i hit my goal weight. And whats even better is that now my already gorgeous fiance Mick has gotten on the fitness kick too - he's been going for a 45 min - 1hr walk/jog 5 days a week - and we're really supporting and encouraging each other. I feel really motivated to keep up with him and get gorgeous and healthy together!

A Different Week, and a Different Beach, Revelations at Morcambe Bay

Monday was Valentine’s Day. At the end of the day I had more roses than Inter-flora, more chocolates than Thornton’s, and more cards than Hallmark… …well maybe that was a Valentine’s Day 30 years ago!

In reality this years Valentine's Day was a rather subdued affair but as it turned out, Monday was only the quiet before the storm. The rest of the week was a great deal more challenging and at times, exciting.

Monday afternoon was devoted to a leadership event which for lots of reasons simply did not capture my imagination. I felt the three and half hours might have been spent a great deal more profitably. When the facilitator told yet one more tedious story to illustrate her point, something about bus drivers and conductors, I fervently wished I was on the No 6 Bus traveling to somewhere sublime. I have said it many times in papers published on leadership and team working, but again reiterate the point that for me leadership (and team working) is better caught rather than taught.

Tuesday came and went in a blur of intense College Executive meetings; an afternoon of investigative interviews that at times were reminiscent of therapy, a very quick glimpse of the past/present/future and a glass of wine at Alistair’s leaving celebration. Wednesday there was more work to be done on the academic scoping exercise. This is an exercise aimed at exploring where possible synergies exist across the taught programmes in each of the three Schools. By the end of March we should, as a College, be in a position to take some decisions over what the future shape of the College might look like.

The exercise was prompted, in part, by the increasing turbulence in our operating environment – the NHS. The changes that are occurring and those the Government are planning, have far reaching implications for all health and social care organizations engaged in preparing the future workforce. Likewise, the last two days of the week were about working with colleagues to think about how the University could become more cost conscious as a way of dealing with the challenges raised by so much economic uncertainty

I have say I was skeptical about what it was we were being asked to do. My concern was why we were going off to the Midland Hotel, Morcambe Bay. Now my perception of this hotel (admittedly based upon the reviews in the Sunday Times Weekend supplement) was of an extremely over priced and over the top renovated Art Deco Hotel. I was perplexed as to why we were going to discuss cost consciousness while possibly spending so much money in the process.

The reality was very different. The deal the University had agreed with the Hotel was a really good one, (but let’s face it how many people want to spend time at a beach in North West England, during a cold grey February?), and despite having to battle through the rush hour traffic of Lancaster to get there, it was as cheap as staying at the University. We did however, have to endure spam sandwiches for lunch and there was no wine provided at dinner! Despite a multi-million pound renovation project I thought the hotel was already past its best. For the first time in some 20 years I found myself sleeping in a single bed… …not good.

On the other hand the two days of discussion, exploration and decision making were brilliant. I became, overnight a cost conscious convert and, have no doubt, will subsequently be described as a cost conscious evangelist. I was really turned on by the creative opportunities in being given organizational license to really change the way we view the world. And it is the way we view the world that makes the difference - we can really change things by role modeling our values and our vision. It was intoxicating stuff.

Whilst in the School of Nursing & Midwifery we had already started to think about and indeed implement some of the ideas exchanged at the retreat, there was much more to learn. The two days were a great opportunity to learn from others, and I can’t wait to get back to business tomorrow to share ideas and see what we can do. However, the two days also gave me pause for thought. Sometimes I can be too enthusiastic about what I feel, and that can turn others off big time. I  know that I need to take greater care over how I express myself and what it is I feel so as to keep others engaged – for me this will be an interesting challenge!

And of course it would be wrong to write a blog this week without mentioning the tremendous things going on in the Middle East. The wave of people power is truly astounding, and I have been an avid reader of every newspaper and TV report describing developments. My heart goes out to all of those who have chosen to raise their voice in protest over oppression. I feel humbled. Simply trying to compare my problems with those of people dealing with theirs on the streets of so many countries has been tough.

My problems this week have been many, but there has been one area that has dominated. This is my ongoing battle with HMRC over what they believe to be an underpayment of my taxes. Talking with them about this is very difficult. On average it takes some 18 minutes between the HMRC automatic answer service picking up and actually speaking to a real person. Having done this three times this week, it is sobering to think that is nearly an hour of my life wasted waiting for HMRC to speak to me.

Salt was rubbed into the wound yesterday as I listened to the news about Barclays and what appearred to be a very modest amount of tax paid on the profits made last year. Barclays are the 10th largest bank in the world. I can remember as a young man in 1974 closing my Barclays’ Bank account in protest of their investments in South Africa which encouraged segregated banks and other forms of racial division. Although I didn't go to University until much later in life, I can recall many University students at the time were being encouraged to apply for emigration to South Africa as a form of mass people protest.

It all seems tame now in comparison to what is going on today in so many of the Middle Eastern countries where people continue to be oppressed, and so many people are being killed and injured as they raise their protest.

Back here in the UK, I think its really important that we try and keep all these people in our thoughts and hearts.

Hand-me-down Evidence

Just a quick post - so you now how i mentioned that in my Hand-me-down post that my mother had dressed me in my cousins hand-me-downs, even though i am, in fact, a girl and he was a boy? And that i couldnt find the photo of me in red " Sherriff " overalls? Well, my mother found it and here it is for your viewing pleasure...

Oh yea, thats me - a bit over 2 yrs old i think - in my fash-tastic hand-me-down overalls with my chubbster brother. Aren't we vintage gorgeous?

Its All In The Contrast

Its Friday, so i'm again taking part in Danimezza's Polly Dolly Polyvore challenge. This week Dani has been a bit inspired by the look and feel of " Black Swan " ( the film Natalie Portman has been Oscar nominated for ) and wants to know how we would dress our Dolly ( or ourselves ) in - Clever Contrast.

Its All In The Contrast by Amy1984 featuring peep toe booties

I've gone with a beautiful maxi dress in a vibrant, feminine pink as the main feature of the outfit. I like the contrast of the feminine colour and cut of the dress with the masculinity of the leather jacket, and the booties instead of a finer stiletto. The statement necklace is bold, but the fringe makes it soft ( and compliments the jungle feel of the leopard print ). I've finished off with a cute lady-like clutch and " With Love " by Hilary Duff. Why ? My friend used to wear it and despite its fluffy, romantic name its actually a very wood, masculine scent. Just gorgeous!

Helpful Hand-me-downs

I think its safe to say that, at some point, all of us have worn hand-me-downs. Maybe the 'only' children out there didnt, or maybe some of you were lucky enough to have parents who earnt enough moolah to buy everything brand new. For the rest of us, there is probably some instance of being given and being forced to wear clothes that were previously owned and worn by older siblings, cousins, or family friends. Being the eldest in my family, i will admit that i didnt get many hand-me-downs at all - sadly, i couldnt find the photo of me wearing my cousins red overalls. ( My cousin was a boy. The overalls said " sheriff " on them. My mum see no harm in this what so ever.... )

Now that i have my own child, i am being given clothes for him, courtesy of my aunt. My cousin is only 18 months older than Flynn, and he's small for his age, so the clothes are spot on for the size that Flynn is almost ready to grow into. That is, she last week gave me a giant bag of size 1 winter clothes... which will be perfect for my chubba bubba who is currently in size 0 summer gear. After my rant last week about the lack of money in our budget at the moment, i'm really grateful to be given some hand-me-downs. I have no shame in accepting them. My aunt has good taste, the clothes are good quality ( and some are even brand new, never worn ) and it saves me a tonne of money that we can put towards saving for other things. And Flynn isnt at an age yet where other kids will notice the fact that not everything is brand new.

But other mums might. I know i said i'm not ashamed for him to wear hand-me-downs, but i am concerned other mums in my mummy-circle might silently judge me. So my question to you - what do you think of hand-me-down couture? Did you wear them as a kid, and do your kids wear them now? And can i just dispense with the " hand-me-down " label and start calling them " vintage " ?

Wasted Weekend

I have a confession to make, ahead of next weeks Operation Slimdown update - i had a BAD weekend. As in everything was bad... i got upset, i lazed around the house like a sad sack, i didnt eat much but what i did eat was junk, and rather than water i crammed myself full of Pepsi Max. The only vegetables i ate on Sunday were mushrooms ( on a pizza ) and potato ( wedges, with a steak sandwich ). By Sunday evening i was a bit disgusted in myself - although my mood had cheered up somewhat, thanks to a series of very farty-sounding raspberries blown on my arm by Flynn ( farty sounds are funny! ). I'm not trying to make excuses by pre-empting my expected low weight loss for the fortnight with this post - i think i'm just trying to let myself know its ok to slip up. Especially when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and sob.

What was wrong with me, your wondering? In retrospect, i probably could have manned-up a bit and not gotten so terribly upset but..... my mum let slip to my sister that she will be bridesmaid at my wedding. Why is that so bad? Because I HADNT ASKED HER YET. I soooo wanted the whole asking thing to be a special moment between my sister and i - i had planned to invite her around for dinner and ask, and let her have her " wow - really? " moment.... but now i cant, because my mother quite oftens suffers from Mouth Before Brain Syndrome. That is, she doesnt think before she speaks. So, without thinking, my mother blurts out to my sister " Oh, Amy made the hair appointment for us the morning of the wedding ", which got a death stare from me and a " Why would i be getting my hair done with her ? " from my sister. Now, my sister may be blonde but she's not entirely stupid, so she knows that the only people who get their hair done with the bride are the brides mother.... and the bridesmaids. Light bulb comes on for my sister, my mothers brain engages at the same moment and she realises what she's done, and my death stare turns to evil eye with angry pout. Not.Happy. Mum.

Suffice to say i eventually burst into tears and had to be comforted by my dad, who assured me that although my mother has frequent brain farts like that, she never actually means to ruin or offend. So not the point though - my special moment is gone, my sisters is gone, and now i cant unask her, can i? ( Not that i wanted to, but there may be complications with the best man which would have made it easier to have no attendants at all. Too late now... ). So i spent the entirety of the rest of the weekend in a funk, alternately pouting and weeping, and paying no attention to what i was putting in my mouth. Boo hoo me....

Single's Awareness Day

Paul said this in Galatians 7
"But God gives to some the gift of singleness and to other the gift of marriage(or relationship)."

When I first read this verse it confused me. Singleness a gift? How can that be? By this time I was toying with the ideas of dating or waiting,and could not decide or imagine that being alone and boyfriednd-less as a gift. It may have been considered that for some, but for me it was still nuisance.
I was talking to my friend about it and she had already sort of dated and realized it wasn't for her. She was saying that she was going to enjoy being single while she could, since most of her life (she hoped) she would not be single. I was reminded of that verse. Is that what it meant? I didn't know. But I planned to figure it out so I looked up the verse in my Message Bible to see how that translation worded it. It said,

Don't be wishing you were somewhere else or with someone else, where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your relationship status defines you.

I understood then. Singleness isn't just not dating. It's God's place for me to be. If he wanted me to date he would have sent a boyfriend. If he wanted me to be in school and not homeschool he would have sent me there. If he wanted me to be six foot three he would have made me just that. But he didn't. Or he hasn't yet. But if he wants to he will (I hope not the six foot three thing. That would be strange) and I hope to be waiting and willing whenever he decides to put me in a different place.
Singleness is a gift to be treasured just as much as marriage or a relationship is to be. There are tons of good things each offers and each has to be thankful for.
So today, Valentine's Day, or whatever day you happen to be in, remember you are in the place God wants you to be. Live and love there, letting God define you.

Beaches, Lunches, Reading and Quiet Contemplation

This week has been one of quiet contemplation. I have been up in Scotland on a week’s annual leave. It is the first time I have been here at this time of the year. The weather has been a mixed offering of frost, ice, torrential rain, high winds and brilliant sunshine. Despite the fact that most places are closed until March, the compensations have been considerable.

The hills have been completely deserted, the woods empty of people, and the beaches places to walk upon without seeing anything move except the tide coming in and then going out again. However, it took me until Tuesday (some four days) before my mind cleared sufficiently and I was able to really enjoy the opportunity to truly relax.

Since then I have been able to let my hair down, as this picture shows. This photo did provoke some unkind comments about how many dog owners grow to resemble their dogs over time. As Billy Connolly might say, I prefer to think about it as a windswept and intresting look, and I am not talking about Cello.

One of my New Year resolutions was to try and have a proper lunch break once or twice in a week. In the six weeks since then, I have managed to do this only on three occasions. However, this week I have enjoyed a two hour lunch every day. The local village has a pub (The Anchor), with a roaring log fire, real beer, and enough of a vegetarian menu to make lunch interesting. Whilst my waistline has expanded considerably, my stress levels have tumbled and I even had a couple of after lunch naps – allegedly!

As some of you will know, I also have a voracious appetite for reading novels while away. At Christmas I bought a Kindle. I have found books much easier and quicker to read in this format. Ordering new books is also very easy. So having loaded up with a dozen new bestselling novels I was looking forward to sitting there, glass of wine in one hand, Kindle in the other. Well it simply refused to work, It was a frustrating start to the holiday and I am sure added to my inability to relax. Amazon managed to fix it remotely yesterday but my faith in this new technology has been challnged. I have never yet had a book that refused to open its covers to prevent being read.

Fortunately I did have three books in my work bag, Foucault’s The Archaeology of Knowledge, Jacques Derrida’s Writing and Difference, and Arthur Kleinman’s Writing at the Margin. Not Lee Child, or Dan Brown I admit, but good reads nevertheless. I was reading these in part preparation to shape my thoughts for a paper on bricolage and the importance of context to mental health research and practice as explicated in therapeutic and research conversations. Kleinman’s work has been a favorite of mine. He’s a great anthropologist and his work is always fresh provocative and challenging. While constructing my PhD, I drew upon his thinking on the way our use of metaphors can help us better understand relationships.

Whilst I have not made much progress towards my paper, I have discovered why some older men start relationships with younger women. Apparently such relationships contribute to human longevity and the survival of the human species. Much evolutionary theory suggests that individuals should die of old age when their reproductive lives are complete, generally by age 55 in humans. Whilst late fatherhood provides no benefit for the older man’s personal survival, the pattern (of reproducing at a later age) has a positive effect on the population as a whole.

However, sitting in the Anchor this week and watching two or three couples with young children struggling to have a relaxing lunch has absolutely reinforced my view that with five children and five grandchildren I think I have already made a positive contribution to the population as a whole. I also discovered day time TV, so for me it might just be a case of recording every episode of Midsummer Murders, Jamie’s 30 minute meals and Come Dine with Me, booting up my Kindle more often, ensuring I have lunches built into my calendar, and counting the days to the next break!

And for all those good folks at HM Revenue and Customs, I had thought my contribution to the National Debit had been paid in full. Thank you for bringing to my attention the fact that over the last few years it clearly hasn't been. I am clearly in your debit. 

CPAC 2011 Saturday

I said yesterday that the Paulies (rabid Ron Paul supporters) annoy me. They love Ron Paul and that's fine. They cheer him lustily and that's fine too. But, when someone else is speaking and making their case? Then they should shut up.

Went to bed early last night. There was a party in the suite next to me and they were boisterous. I could hear them talking about the conference and they went late into the night. They woke me a few times but that didn't bother me much. I could roll over and go back to sleep. If I weren't so tired, I'd have joined them. What did bother me were the Paulies who woke me up yelling from down on the ground somewhere outside: "Ron Paul!: Ron Paul!" The windows were closed and I was on the fourth floor, but they still woke me up. I felt like getting dressed, going down there, getting in their faces and yelling with my fists and teeth gritted: "Shut the f*** up!" I actively considered it, but rolled over and tried hard to go back to sleep instead. Then I'd hear again: "Ron Paul! Ron Paul!" In my younger days I'd have gone out there.

Only one post today. Where did I get the energy to do three in each of the past two days? I had good intentions today too, but . . .

Started the day with Andrew Breitbart at 9:00 am. He got big billing starting off the day because crowds are biggest on Saturday. Many people come only for Saturday at CPAC and this year we were pushing 11,000. There were 8,000 in 2009; 10,000 in 2010 with the Tea Party additions, and 10% more this year. Amazing. Conservatives are fired up.He’s gotten featured billing in the main ballroom. He’s not fringe anymore. He’s earned his stripes in the conservative movement and he's a former liberal, so I identify with him.

The guy introducing him says he has all the right enemies. “The venom hurled at him by the left is ferocious.”Okay. Here he is. No tie. That varies from year to year, I've noticed. He said he’s taking on the institutional left. That he does, certainly.

“The hyper-focused aspects of my ADD makes me stay on the story." Pigford. He’s gnawing that bone relentlessly and I just know he’s going to keep chewing and chewing. See Thursday's post here.He talked about annoying the left for sport near his home in West LA. “Acorn is protesting in front of the Fox television affiliate,” he says. "They chant: 'We are Acorn, mighty mighty Acorn.' It’s all they say. They won’t answer questions." They did say vile things about Andrew though when they spotted him. That was before they disbanded and this was during the focused attack Breitbart made on them last year that eventually put them out of business.

Breitbart went on with his story. He said they resumed chanting: “'We are Acorn. Ask us why.' So, I walked up to them with a video camera and asked, 'Why?'” At that point, he noticed their organizer get perplexed. Others were looking to him for direction and he didn't offer them any. Then, they just disbanded, Breitbart said, and he realized he was having a marvelous time and he wanted to do this for the rest of his life.

“I am Andrew, mighty mighty Andrew,” he said from the CPAC podium. "You can do this too. You can take on those out there who would try to intimidate you. Use a camera [when you do it.]"

Later, he said "I’m at a “Stop the Hate” rally. 'Who here is from SEIU?' I ask them. I have a camera. The organizer gets nervous. I keep asking them questions. They call me a fag and spit on me. Then they disbanded as well.

Then he talked about a Code Pink rally in LA. Guess that's the left's rally point out there on the left coast.

He had another story about that, but I couldn't type fast enough. He connected Code Pink, Pigford, and Obama in a loose way.Being seated in the media lounge with the mainstream media while Breitbart speaks is ironic. They don’t know much about him and they don’t take him seriously. “Is he from LA?” “Is this still Breitbart speaking?” They talk amongst themselves. They don’t understand that Breitbart and armies of others like him will eventually put them out of job.


Next, I attended a session in another room entitled: "The Sharia Challenge in the West" with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, James Woolsey, Clifford May and Andrew McCarthy. It was a marvelous session, best of the day. The email giving me my media credentials asked whom I'd like to interview and I requested Ayaan Hirsi Ali but I never heard back. I got there early, however, and sat in the front. She, however, was partially hidden behind the podium from where I was sitting. During the Q&A, someone asked her the likelihood of the Muslim Brotherhood taking over in Egypt now that Mubarak was gone.
We have to watch three things, she said. First, gauge the extent of MB influence in military. Then gauge the gullibility of the Obama Administration, which brought laughter from the audience which, like me, was probably thinking of Obama's Director of National Intelligence Clapper. And, finally, gauge the level of organization in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood. She offered examples of how it was as a teenaged girl growing up in Kenya and believing what the MB preached. Their brainwashing methodology was highly effective. In conclusion, she predicted an MB takeover in three to five years. Others on the panel, including former CIA Director Woolsey, seemed to agree.

When asked by another audience member if we were going to win [the war with Islamists] eventually and how we might do that, she believed we should “offer an alternative vision.” She said, “We’ve inhibited ourselves” by not speaking out enough out of some misguided fear of giving offense. “If they defeat us," she said, it [would be] because of our lack of confidence. . . . Their paradigm is a paradigm of death. That is their core vulnerability. It is a core of death. You defeat it by pushing a core of life.”She said much more than I have time to write here, so I'll return to this in a future column.After lunch, I went back to the big ballroom for a session on what to do in Afghanistan, but Pat Boone was speaking after having received a Lifetime Achievement Award. From way up in the media section, he still looked like he always did seeing him on TV as a kid. On the big screens around the room he did too. I remembered people marveling that he never seemed to age and I wanted to see how he looked close up. I walked up to the dais, knelt down, and used my zoom lens again.Okay, back up in the media lounge. John Bolton just walked by me for an interview with Fox News. I'm sorry Laurie from Bartlett. I missed Bolton's speech earlier that day because I chose to attend the Ayaan Hirsi Ali panel down the hall instead, but you can see it here. He was fifteen feet away and there were security guards around scrutinizing everything, including me. Andrew Breitbart was standing behind me talking to the CNN guy.A guy at the dais down on the floor was talking about Afghanistan costing us $100-120 billion this year. Wow. Bolton was talking and listening to someone remotely through an earplug and looking at the camera. He was talking about the possibility of democracy in Egypt.Next, Breitbart talked to the CNN guy slightly to the left of where I was sitting and trying to concentrate on the speeches below. The Afghanistan panel had broken up and Ron Kessler was slamming the NYT from the podium. Good for him. He says reporters would have been fired years ago for publishing the kinds of stories they run today. They ignore stories they don't like and play up others.Then Congressman Alan West walked by to be interviewed by Fox News. He was scheduled to be speaking at the close of the CPAC Conference, going on at 5:30. He generating the most interest in the media lounge. Many others with media passes hovered and took pictures of him. There was a cranky old guy sitting behind me yelling at people to get out of his way. He sent John Bolton and his security guards scurrying down the stairs a few minutes ago. I’ll have to ask him who he is before I leave.West was talking to Heraldo Rivera remotely about the deficits and the national debt approaching $15 trillion. He said the American people expect [Congress] to do something about that, or we won’t have an America to pass down to our children. I had a chance to shake his hand again as he was leaving. I told him he’s a good man and I hoped he got the crowd pumped later. "Thank you sir," he said.

I almost went down to the bar for a glass or wine when Ann Coulter was introduced. Didn’t see her on the schedule I downloaded a week or so before the conference, so I stayed for her remarks. Then I went down to get some closeups.“We have a path to citizenship," she was saying. "It’s called legal immigration.”

She took questions from the audience. “Where do you get your energy?” someone asked.

“Reading the New York Times. It does something to me,” she said, jerking body spasmodically.Responding to another question about what she thought of GOPride being at CPAC 2011, she answered saying liberals use different groups to destroy the family and that was unfortunate. “Liberals want the family destroyed, they want religion destroyed, because then you have loyalty directly to the state only.”

Last came Congressman Alan West's speech, which was marvelous. He got the most standing O's I've seen during the whole conference. Too bad he's not experienced enough for a presidential run yet. He's got steel in him.I didn't take notes. I just listened and enjoyed.He covered just about every issue important to conservatives and I actually agreed with the totality of what he said, which hardly ever happens no matter who I'm listening to.I'd first met him back in 2009 at the private Geert Wilders reception put on by Pam Geller in the Omni Shoreham. We spoke for several minutes and had our picture taken together. I remember being quite impressed with him and I still am. To see his entire speech, click here.